A raging fire took the neighbor's home, but an act of heroism by Dillon Hayes and his stepfather, Ben Wheeler, kept the flames from taking the pet.

"We ran over there as fast as we could," Dillon said. "Neighbors were out saying they didn't know if the people were home or not, and they said there was a dog."

The family was not at home because they were dealing with a medical issue, but their dog was inside the burning home in the Sterling Estates neighborhood in Boiling Springs.

Dillon and his family moved to the neighborhood only about two weeks ago, and had not yet met their neighbors.

Dillon's family lost their English bulldog, Daisy, to health problems Thursday night. He and his stepfather were in the back yard, a few streets away from the home that caught fire, laying their pet to rest when they saw the smoke.

He and his stepfather ran to the house and broke in with hopes of saving the dog.

"Adrenaline kicked in and you do what you can to save somebody," he said.

They found the dog, and brought it to safety.

"She was scared, didn't know where to go, where to run," Dillon said. "My stepdad carried her out and tried to calm her down as quick as possible.

Dillon and his stepfather were still trying to deal with the death of Daisy. Wheeler was too upset Friday to be able to talk about it.

"I wanted my dog to be OK," Dillon said. "I was all down in the dumps, but seeing that dog come out and be happy, it just made me feel good about what I did."

"I would hate to have to see another dog die," he said. "Dogs are like little kids to me. I love them to death. Their dog seems like they love it a lot, so we tried to help as much as we could."

Unfortunately the family's cat was unable to be saved and died in the fire.

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